Beautiful
by ehee
Summary: Reply to Weekly One-Shot Challenge Week #18. Sookie has plans for Eric -- will they backfire on her? AU/AH/OOC.


**WEEKLY ONE-SHOT CHALLENGE**

**WEEK #18**

**"When you are up to your ass in alligators, it's important to remember..."**

A/N -- This one is unbeta'd so the mistakes are all mine. Thanks again to my own personal cheerleading squad, aka EbonyEyez1 -- YOU ROCK!

I don't own these characters, either. Only Ms. Harris could come up with characters this good!

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She's the most beautiful girl in school. Everyone thinks so. Heck, even I think so. So it's not surprising that Pamela Ravenscroft has her sights set on the most beautiful boy in school – Eric Northman. And she's got what it takes to attract him, too...flowing blonde hair and creamy skin, a slim figure sporting the latest designer labels, thanks to Daddy's money. All the boys in school dream of getting close to Pamela.

Everyone knows Sookie Stackhouse is the polar opposite of Pamela Ravenscroft. _Except for the blonde hair, that is._ My skin has the rich glow of a sun worshiper. My figure is curvaceous, not trim. My attire consists mainly of T-shirts, jeans, and sneakers. (Except, of course, when I go to church with Gran.) And I don't have a daddy, rich or otherwise. Mine was taken from me, along with my mother, by a drunk driver when I was seven years old.

I don't stand a snowball's chance in You-Know-Where.

Eric Northman is The. God of Bon Temps High School, with his blond hair (the same color as mine, actually; not that anyone notices besides me), crystal blue eyes, and a body that would make Adonis pea-green with envy. At six-foot-four, he is the tallest guy in school – combined with his natural athletic prowess, it's no accident he's the quarterback and captain of the Bon Temps Hawks football team.

In spite of the gigglish buzz and serious panty dampening he causes at school, Eric doesn't really show much interest in girls. He did think he was in love with Selah Pumphrey our junior year, but after two months she broke his heart and Yours Truly was left to help him pick up the pieces. I don't know who was more traumatized by the whole ordeal, him or me.

No, it's not that Eric doesn't know who I am. We're neighbors, for crying out loud, and have been ever since I lost my parents, and my brother Jason and I moved in with Gran. We grew up playing in the same sandbox, riding our bicycles on the same street, running through the same sprinkler in the summertime...you get the picture. Oh yes, Eric Northman knows who I am, alright.

He just doesn't _know me_.

To him, I'm the boy next door. Someone to watch sports on TV with, someone to listen to music with, someone to go fishing with...that's right, I _like_ fishing. _So what?_

My point is, he sees me more like a younger brother, not the girl next door. And I guess that's mostly my fault because I've never given him cause to see me otherwise. I mean, I've pretty much never acted like a girl around him. Growing up with only a brother and the neighbor boy as playmates, I never really got into the girly things, like dolls and dress-up and such. It's always been boy games, which has always been fine with me.

Until now.

Now that the Ravenscroft family has moved to Bon Temps and Eric has noticed Pamela, I am forced to make a choice. Do I stand on the sidelines and just watch as Eric's fledgling interest in Pamela grows into something more? Or do I tell the love of my life how I feel and hope I don't die of embarrassment, or rejection, or both?

As I'm sitting in the school parking lot in my little beat-up hooptie, watching Pamela wave to Eric from her shiny new BMW roadster, I realize it's now or never.

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Football season in Bon Temps is exceeded in fervor only by deer hunting season. So it's no surprise to find the parking lot almost full as I pull in and search for an empty parking space. As I scour the rows for an open spot, I spy Pamela's BMW. _Of course she's here, you dimwit,_ I silently chide myself. _She's the captain of the cheerleading squad_.

And I can't even do a cartwheel.

I finally find an empty space and park my car. A hugely large case of nerves envelops me as I walk toward the lights of the stadium. I say a silent prayer of thanks that Bon Temps thinks enough of its football program to actually pave the parking lot. I don't think I would be able to navigate gravel in these heels.

I manage to reach the gate without a turned ankle. After paying for my ticket, I make my way inside and head toward the seat where I sit every week with Amelia, the only girl in school I consider a friend.

As Amelia approaches, her eyes are wide as saucers and her mouth forms a little "O" in surprise as she takes in my outfit. "Oh. My. God." she exclaims. "Sookie – is that really you?"

"Yes, it's me," I hiss at her. "Now would you please sit down and try not to cause a scene?"

Amelia sits, but not after having garnered the attention of a few people sitting around us. Already feeling self conscious in my totally-out-of-character attire, I lean towards Amelia so she can hear me whisper. "I'll explain, just please don't make a big deal out of it. Okay?"

"But it _is_ a big deal, Sooks," she whispers back excitedly. "I don't think I've ever seen you in a skirt. _And_ heels! Hell, you even wear slacks to church. What gives?"

Amelia is the only person who knows even a smidgeon of my feelings for Eric, so I lean in closer and quickly explain my plan, such that it is. Having zero experience in the art of seduction, I'm pretty much just flying by the seat of my pants...er, skirt...at this point.

When I finish, Amelia squeals in delight. "I can't believe you're actually going through with this!" she proclaims. "I know you've had a thing for Eric for some time, but I thought you were happy just living next door and hanging out with him and shit." Sometimes Amelia can be about as subtle as a club.

"I was, until _I_ noticed _he_ noticed Pamela," I say dejectedly. "You know how she is, Amelia. She's a barracuda. She'll just chew him up and spit him out. And I can't have her doing that to him. Not after the thing with Selah. I care too much about him."

"Well, all I can say is 'Good Luck' hon. But something tells me you're not really going to need it." She grins and wiggles her eyebrows at me. "Not with the way you look tonight."

I blush about fifty shades of red and elbow my friend in the ribs to hush her giggles. We watch the game, cheering along with the other fans as the Hawks once again emerge victorious.

After receiving a quick hug from Amelia, I make my way toward the parking lot and my car. I try to ignore the curious looks I receive as people notice my skirt and heels. My courage begins to dissolve as I slide into the driver's seat, and I pause a moment to steady myself as I start my car.

The throng of vehicles slows my exit, but I finally make my way to the street and head for mine and Eric's post-game rendezvous spot by Piney Woods Lake. It's been a tradition ever since I started driving. After every home game, Eric and I meet in a little secluded clearing on the far side of the lake, the same spot we normally fish, and rehash the details of the game. I sometimes wonder why he doesn't hang out with his teammates after the games instead of with me. You would think he would rather talk shop with the guys and not the tomboy next door.

Only tonight there is more than football on my agenda. I just hope I don't run out of luck...or nerve.

I wait only a few minutes before I spy the headlights of Eric's Corvette heading down the narrow lane that circles the lake. He pulls into the clearing beside me and cuts the engine as he unfolds his long frame from the low car. My nerves are humming like a power line as Eric walks toward where I am leaning on the front of my car. At first he doesn't notice, then when he does he stops dead in his tracks.

"Sookie?" his perfect brows furrow in his disbelief. "What the fuck? Why are you wearing a skirt to the lake?"

My resolve says 'hasta la bye-bye' and makes a hasty exit. I don't know how to respond and can only stammer, much to my chagrin. "Yeah, well...um...I just wanted to..._oh, shit._" I look at the ground to will away the tears pooling in my eyes. '_I will not cry...I will not cry,'_ I chant internally. Disappointment floods my emotions as I silently berate myself for being foolish enough to think I could ever attract Eric in _that_ way.

I feel him step closer and allow myself to look up. His face is filled with understanding and his blue eyes sparkle. "I think you look beautiful," he whispers.

_What?_ "What?" Lord, where's a brain filter when you need one?

"I said," he repeats slowly as he steps closer, "I think you look beautiful."

"You do?" I croak, trying to swallow the mammoth-sized lump that has formed in my throat.

"Yeah." He finally closes the distance between us and slips an arm around my waist to pull me off the front of the car. With a two fingers under my chin, he tips my head up so I am looking directly into his eyes. "Yeah," he repeats, but this time his voice has a throaty timbre.

Slowly he lowers his head and as I close my eyes I feel his lips brush mine. My heart is beating a hundred times a minute with my excitement. The only time I ever kissed a boy, if you could call it a kiss, was after my one and only date with Bill Compton, and he had more or less just tried to suffocate me with his tongue. But Eric's kiss is light and sweet, and it leaves me tingling all the way down to my toes.

"I've loved you for a long time, Sookie," he breathes in my ear. "I was just so afraid to say anything, because I was afraid you wouldn't feel the same way about me. I thought you felt like I was just another brother to you."

"But what about Pamela?" I know it's tacky and probably not the right time to ask, but I have to know.

"Pamela is nothing," he answers as his tongue outlines the shell of my ear and I shiver in response. "She's nothing more than eye candy. She doesn't know the first thing about football, except how to show up for a game, and I bet she would probably die before she ever baited a fish hook." _Seriously, only Eric could talk about football and fishing and make it sound sexy. _

Light and sweet kisses quickly turn breathless and passionate and I feel Eric's tongue seeking entrance at my lips. Having never really been in this situation before, I begin to panic a little as my plan to get Eric to "notice" me seems to be working a little _too_ well. I am suddenly reminded of one of Gran's old sayings: _When you are up to your ass in alligators, it's important to remember..._

The remainder of the saying is lost to me as my lips part for Eric's tongue and he lays me back across the hood of my car. As the alligators close in on me, I just pray to God they don't bite.

_Fin_

**A/N** -- Once again, music is the inspiration for this little one-shot. Check out Taylor Swft's latest video: **http://music (dot) aol (dot) com/video/you-belong-with-me/taylor-swift/bc:24579753001** -- Just take out the spaces and replace the **(dot)** with a **.**


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